Maersk Line’s acquisition of Hamburg Sud will likely force it to sell its Brazilian flag operation Mercosul Line, which could open the door to CMA CGM or Mediterranean Shipping Co. to enter the closed Brazilian coastal shipping market.

The Ecoporto Santos container terminal in Brazil is moving ahead with an expensive equipment upgrade despite not being guaranteed an extension to the company’s port concession period. This comes as competition among the Santos terminals is heating up, with handling rates eroding in 2014.

After a year of surging sales of foodstuffs to Russia owing to economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and European Union and retaliatory actions by Russia, Brazil is now possibly the largest supplier of food to Russia, according to the SovEcon consultancy.

Charging that Brazil’s foreign trade is too concentrated in the Mercosur trading bloc, the Brazilian Foreign Trade Association wants Brazil to weaken its ties with Mercosur and concentrate instead on other foreign markets.

Concluding the final stage in its merger with Hapag-Lloyd, CSAV injected 259 million euros ($317 million) into the combined company and in doing so increased its shareholding to 34 percent in what is now the world’s fourth largest container line.

Carriers announced general rate increases that span into February this week, as spot rates around the globe respond to mid-December rate hikes. Drewry Maritime Research’s World Container Index composite index, which measures 11 East-to-West trade lanes, jumped a cumulative 35.8 percent this week.

The Brazilian port of Manaus will invest R$97 million (US 37.4 million) in automation at one container terminal and at a general cargo facility and buy new equipment after receiving private use status, exempting it from certain labor rules.